The "Fat Buddha" is not Siddhartha Gautama. He's Budai, for some traditions an emanation of Maitreya, who is the final Buddha yet to come. Maitreya still lives in the "heaven of the contented." The Fat Buddha is an image of a Chinese Monk from C10 CE (who some consider Maitreya's emanation, others an image of a bodhisattva--one on the final stages of awakening with godlike qualities).

I'm sure someone else can explain the "fat Buddha" phenomenon better than I can. But the skinny Jesus, I think, comes from the modern desire to seem him as physically fit and attractive in accordance with broadly Western concepts of beauty. We don't want a fat Jesus any more than we want an ugly Jesus, apparently (as Colbert reminded us the other night).

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Crossley, Keith, and Le Donne

(pictured from left to right)

James Crossley (PhD, Nottingham) is Professor of Bible, Culture and Politics at the University of Sheffield. In addition to most things historical Jesus, his interests typically concern Jewish law and the Gospels, the social history of biblical scholarship, and the reception of the Bible in contemporary politics and culture.

Chris Keith (PhD, Edinburgh) is Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity and Director of the Centre for the Social-Scientific Study of the Bible at St. Mary’s University, Twickenham, London.

Anthony Le Donne (PhD, Durham) is Assistant Professor of New Testament at United Theological Seminary. He is the author/editor of seven books. He is the co-founder of the Jewish-Christian Dialogue and Sacred Texts Consultation and serves as an editor of the Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus.

Books by Crossley, Keith, and Le Donne:

To purchase, follow these links

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Harnessing Chaos: The Bible in English Political Discourse since 1968

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Jesus in an Age of Neoliberalism

Soundings in the Religion of Jesus

Historical Jesus

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Jesus in an Age of Terror

The Fourth Gospel in First-Century Media Culture

The Historiographical Jesus

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The Wife of Jesus: Ancient Texts and Modern Scandals

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The New Testament and Jewish Law: A Guide for the Perplexed

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Reading the New Testament: Contemporary Approaches

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Jesus and the Chaos of History Redirecting the Life of the Historical Jesus